Screen for separating sand from slime.



W. E. DARROW.

SCREEN POR SEPARATING SAND FROM SLIME.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 26,1914.

Patented Mar, 30, 1915.

A IN VEN TOR. Plfaizarrow W I TNESSES TTORNE Y UNITE@ STATES FATENT FFIQFL.

WILTON E. DARROVI, OF SUTTER CREEK, CALIFORNIA.

SCREEN FOR SEPARATING- SAND FROM SLIME.

Application led May 26, 1914.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, WILToN E. DARRow, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sutter Creek, in the county of Amador and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Screens for Separating Sand from Slime; and I do declare the following to be a clear, full, and eXact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in paraphernalia for the treatment of crushed ores for the purpose of obtaining therefrom the precious metals. I have an improved process for the treatment of these crushed ores which requires first the separation of the granular particles from the slimes so that the granular particles and slimes may be treated separately, said granular particles, such as the sand, being ordinarily treated by the cyanidation process. To this end the present invention embodies a means for readily separating the slimes from the granular particles or sand.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly eective for the purposes for which it is designed.

These objects, I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of the parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following speciiication and claims.

On the drawings, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Figure l is a side elevation partly broken out of the complete apparatus, Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on a line X-X of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral l designates the supporting frames for the structure in which are journaled two spaced shafts 2 and 3. On the shaft 2 is secured a hub l provided with projecting arms or spokes 5 having portions 6 projecting at right angles therefrom to form a supporting periphery for a wheel. lSecured around all of the members 6 is a wire mesh 7 of suflicient size to permit the slime and sand Specification of Letters Patent.

Ijatented Mar. 30, 1915.

Serial No. 841,001.

to pass therethrough. Mounted on the outside of the screen 7 is a plurality of spacing ribs 8 and mounted over the ribs 8 and around the entire periphery of the wheel is another screen 9 having a mesh finer than the mesh 7 and suitable to allow the slimes to wash therethrough, but to prevent the granular particles such as the sand from so passing therethrough. rlhe space on one side of the wheel is covered with a plate 10 and on the other side with a ring 1l to prevent side splash in the operation hereinafter described.

The numeral l2 designates a spray pipe discharging downwardly against the screen '7 on the lower side of the wheel and the numeral 13 designates a spray pipe discharging downwardly against the screen 9 on the upper side of the wheel. The crushed ore is delivered to the inside of the wheel and onto the screen 7 by means of a trough 14 and the water from the pipe l2 spraying downwardly against the same washes it through the screen 7 and against the screen 9. The water, combined with the rotary motion of the wheel by centrifugal motion, holds the sand between the screens while the movement of the water washes the slime through the outer screen 9 from whence it may be carried away in any suitable manner. To prevent any portion of the slimes from adhering to the outside of the screen 9 with the rotary motion of the wheel, I provide a canvas covered roller l5 engaging the screen 9 so as to wipe off the water and slime which comes through the screen 9. Thus when the sand reaches the top plane of the wheel, with the rotation of such wheel, it is comparatively free of the slime and the force of the water passing from the spray pipe 14C washes the sand back through the screen 9 and into a trough 16 disposed immediately below the line of the spray pipe 18. This trough 1G discharges into another wheel 17 which is substantially of the same structure as the wheel last described and is mounted on the shaft 3 so I will not enter into any detailed description of this second wheel save to state that the operation thereof is substantially the same as the previous wheel, the sand being discharged into another trough 16a below a spray pipe 13a, which trough will in turn discharge into a cyanide tank or any other suitable place for the treatment of the sand.

As will be noted, the crushed ore can be very readily classified by the use of my improved structure and at the same time the sand can be elevated for immediate delivery into the cyanide tank.

From the foregoing description it will readily be seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice, such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to se cure by Letters Patent, is

A device of the characterdescribed comprising a rotary member mounted on a shaft, the outer periphery of said rotary member comprising an inner and an outer screen spaced apart, each screen comprising a single annular unit, means for discharging from passing therethrough but to allow the water and slime to drain therethrough leaving the granular portions masses between the two screens, a discharge means leading from within the inner periphery of the inner screen at the upper side thereof, and means for discharging a water supply upon the outer screen through the inner screen and into said last named discharge means whereby the mass of saidV granular portions will be washed from the screens into said last named discharge means, as described.

In testimony whereof I aihx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILTON E. DARROW. Witnesses: v

JOSHUA B. WEBSTER, FLOYD M. BLANCHARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents- Washington, D. C. 

